hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm tim willcox. our top stories, the bombs and the conflict continues. iraqis are going to the polls for the first time since u.s. troops withdrew three years ago. nigeria's women provoke a rally in abuja. it's all about me. bjp leader narendra modi takes a selfie after casting his vote in the seventh phase of india's marathon election. also in the program, aaron is here.

it's all about battling for the top spot. >> absolutely, tim. for 144 years the united states has been the world's biggest km economy. china is catching up fast. now a new way of measuring growth backed by the world bank suggests china could overtake the u.s. by the end of this year. we asked is this a real threat or simply some very clever number crunching? hello. it is midday here in london. 7:00 a.m. in washington. 2:00 p.m. in baghdad where the first parliamentary elections are taking place since the u.s. pulled their troops out of the country three years ago. amid a backdrop of the worst violence since 2008, iraqis are going to the polls to decide whether to give prime minister nuri al maliki a third term in office. more than 150 people have been

killed in the past week alone. there will be no voting in two cities in the sunni dominated anbar province in fallujah and ramadi where fighting between al qaeda gunmen and iraqi forces prevented polling stations from being set up. voting in the rest of the country is taking place under heavy security. baghdad is under lockdown with no cars allowed on the streets. in a moment we'll be going live to the iraqi capital. first, let's get a sense of what some iraqis want out of these elections. >> translator: if you look at a map of the world, you will see iraq at the heart of it. we need a change in the country. there is serious work to be done. iraq is a strong country. we will see progress and prosperity in the future. >> translator: it's not good. we are begging in the streets. we have no money, no jobs. my son was arrested just because he is a sunni. we don't know where he is. i'm begging in order to provide for his children.

we don't want this government. they are thieves. they are killing us. >> just some of the voices in these elections. let's get the latest on the ground. in capital baghdad. and in the north of the country. first of all, these elections overshadowed by violence and the fear of violence. >> reporter: they are, indeed, tim. even some of the cities up north and in the majority sunni areas, we have seen or heard reports about the mosques after the noon prayer calling for people to go in numbers to the voting station and not give in to the threats of violence as they say those who are perpetrating violence would aim to achieve. but here in baghdad, there is security going all around. the curfew is still applicable.

although in some of the southern areas, the curfew has been lifted and the operations are going as normal. >> you're in abil. 22 million iraqis eligible to vote. what has the turnout been like there? >> reporter: well, it was a slow start to the day. but more people are turning out to vote in the afternoon. for the kurds, this is another chance for them in post saddam hussein iraq to serve the role of politics in the country. the past few years were not the best in terms of their relations with the central government in baghdad. and these elections, as i said, will be a chance for them, you know, to -- you know, to come with their claims again when it comes to forming a central government in baghdad. and we know very well that it's unlikely for one single party to win this election outright. so there will be -- it will be very important for anyone who

will be, you know, who will be seeking the prime minister's job in iraq, which is the most influential job here in this country to join -- you know, to join the kurds into his coalition. >> nuri al maliki is going for a third term. he seems quite confident about getting it. i think the last time it took ten months to form a government, didn't it? >> reporter: well, it took 86 days to certify the results even before the negotiations started last month. those who are close to the political circles here predict a long protracted summer of negotiations. especially the consensus around the name of the president of the republic is a precondition to any consensus on the name of the prime minister. and that is why we are seeing all sorts of new alliances taking shapes. and negotiations behind closed

doors are really actively pursuing before we even hit that milestone. >> traditionally, rafid, the north of the country, semiautonomous region, there hasn't been as much violence there. although i think there was a bomb blast not too far away from kirkuk a little earlier today. what are the issues for voters at the moment apart from security? is corruption, for example, something which has been prevalent in iraq for so many years now, is that still something any new government has got to confront? >> reporter: it is. especially, there are actually two elections going on now in kurdistan. the iraqi parliamentary elections. the other is the provisional elections, the local elections to elect the city councils and the governors of the three provinces here in kurdistan. so this is an issue. but, of course, the major issues for the kurds in this poll are,

of course, the issues of their relations with the central government. the disputed areas that extend along the borders between the kurdish part of iraq and the wider arab part. and their representation in the central government after these elections. >> rafid jaboori. thank you both very much. let's catch up with some of the other main news today. pro-russian separatists have seized control of more official buildings a town in eastern ukraine extending hold on the region. this follows the seizure of official buildings in nearby luhansk by pro-russian militants tuesday. russia continues to deny accusations it's funding and orchestrating the unrest. coordinators of the search effort for the missing ma lay airlines flight mh370 have dismissed a claim possible plain wreckage was found in the northern bay of bengal. the underwater search is continuing off the australian

coach. six weeks of searching have so far failed to find any wreckage at all. a dangerous storm system which earlier killed more than 30 people in the southern united states has now flattened scores of homes, churches and businesses in louisiana and alabama. trees and power lines have been knocked out. meteorologists say the storms have weakened, but tornado watches are still in effect for some isolated areas. there's mounting anger in my je nigeria -- to free more than 230 girls abducted from their school by islamist militants over a fortnight ago. a million woman protest march is being called for by the women's peace and justice organization to demand more resources for securing the girls' release. with me is someone who runs the campaign group women of africa. thank you for coming in. it's rumored that these girls and, indeed, boko haram are in

the cambista forest. what sort of efforts have been made to find them, track them down? >> well, without having to seek a fortune teller who will know, there is no effort at all that has been extended by the government to reach out and get these children. we're very shocked. >> the army -- there's been a little misinformation. the army said a few days ago they had found and released these girls. how can something like that be said officially? >> well, this has been the pattern of the nigerian government. the people and the world have been fooled all the time through stories that they bring out. this is not the first set of children or young girls that have been taken. the last time, we don't know who. in this particular case, we don't know is it boko haram people actually behind this? because nobody's doing anything

about it. >> what are you fears, though, for the well-being of these girls? i mean, as you say, more girls have been taken from boarding schools in the past. what happens to them? >> well, once in a while, the military will come out and parade some group of children and say, well, we have rescued them. but you look at them and you know these are not the children. so what we are seeing is a government that is paralyzed. a government that has failed completely. not just in this case. what it shows is in nigeria there's no one actually safe in nigeria because we have no government. >> but physically what do you think is happening to these girls? >> well, that's anybody's guess. >> from past experiences. >> well, we know that a lot of these people are sexual -- they are inhumane people. they take children, there are girls or women -- it's not all children. they abuse everybody.

it's a sexual enslavement we are seeing. >> there are some reports they have been sold across the borders in other countries. forced marriage. >> that would be one thing. i would not rule that out. i would not also rule out a consistent gang raping of our children. that is the horror. you can try not to think about it. but you cannot stop thinking about it because these are little children having to deal with the problems that adults in nigeria have not been able to deal with. because you go into nigeria, everybody lives in fear. i've just come back. you can't talk. you cannot move. you don't know if tonight, this minute, is your last moment. you don't know. everyone is living in fear. >> what impact do you think this march today in abuja is going to have? i mean, hundreds of thousands of women are expected to turn out for this. but will it make any difference? >> it will not.

it will not. my appeal would be that the international community should find a way of coming in. because the oppression that is going on inside nigeria -- >> isn't it something actually for the african union to sort out? they look at a country like nigeria, booming economy, and they think nigeria -- >> when you talk about the african union, which country in african can command is nigeria. if nigeria says we are getting this issue, that means for me it goes down to the incapability of african government themselves. most of the governments are made up of the same people. some of them are very good. we cannot say it's all of them. but we know that the -- the paralysis of the au is flowing from the fact that governments like this or individuals in government offices throughout the continent are exactly the

same people. really this is a serious affair. i will appeal for the international community to reach out. if it's possible, if you see a government, nigerian government are going to do anything, what they should do is talking to the government around nigeria. the government in cameroon, niger. do some intelligence work. you shouldn't be able to -- taking children out, bringing people, fighters from niger to come and kill people in nigeria. take our children, take them across and marry them across to that country. i think we're looking at the -- at a country that has been feeding on chaos and they're urging us to -- telling the people to keep quiet. when they know that nothing has been done. >> alice, thank you very much for joining us.

we're going to take a break. but stay with us. because still to come, shock on death row. we'll tell you how an inmate dies from a botched execution. a? [ man ] i did. so, what'd you think of the house? did you see the school rating? oh, you're right. hey, babe, i got to go. bye, daddy. have a good day at school, okay? ♪ [ man ] but what about when my parents visit? okay. just love this one. it's next to a park. [ man ] i love it. i love it, too. here's your new house. ♪ daddy! [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow.

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prison officials in the american state of oklahoma have halted an execution halfway through after botching the delivery of a new untested combination of drugs. the prisoner, clayton lockett, was still said to be shaking uncontrollably 20 minutes after the first drug was administered. he later died of a heart attack. bbc's richard lister reports. >> reporter: clayton lockett was convicted of shooting a 19-year-old woman and watching as his friends buried her alive.

last night he suffered his own gruesome death. his was to have been the first of two executions by lethal injection on the same evening at this oklahoma prison. but something went badly wrong. after being strapped to the gurney, a doctor injected him with a sedative at 6:23 p.m. at 6:33 he was declared unconscious and he was injected with two more drugs to end his life. but at 6:36 he began writhing on the gurney, breathing heavily and trying to speak. >> at 6:39 he's still lifting his shoulders and head off the gurney. grimacing. and appeared to be in distress. >> from start to finish, 6:23 the execution started. 6:39 is when they closed the curtains on us. a 16 minute process to watch. >> reporter: a prison official had been expected to confirm his execution to waiting journalists. but as the time passed, it became clear there was a problem. >> i notified the attorney general's office, the governor's office of my intent to stop the

execution and requested a stay for 14 days for the second execution scheduled this afternoon. >> reporter: but minutes later clayton lockett suffered a massive heart attack and died. lethal injection is now the most commonly used execution method in america, but sourcing the drugs has become difficult. the eu has banned their export. and american drug companies demand anonymity. lawyers for lockett had sued the state to reveal its drug supplier. they lost that battle. but death penalty protesters are likely to take it up again. >> the legal battle has been over the drugs themselves. and whether or not that they could be used in such an execution and would cause a quick death that would be compatible with -- that would not be a form of cruel and unusual punishment. for his death to occur under these circumstances is certainly interesting to say the least. >> reporter: clayton lockett's slow death has put the execution

of charles warner on hold for two weeks, at least. and it's reignited the debate about whether any execution can be carried out humanely. richard lister, bbc news. the seventh phase of india's general election is taking place with nearly 140 million people eligible to vote in seven states. the governing congress party faces a strong challenge from the opposition hindu nationalist bjp whose leader narendra modi is current favorite to become india's next prime minister. on wednesday he voted in his home state. votes will be counted on the 16th of may. our correspondent is in the capital of gujurat. >> reporter: here in ahmedabad at the college, there's a

polling station right behind me. it's seen quite a bit of activity through the day. quieted down quite a bit now because we have close to the end of voting. just a couple hours left. also incredibly hot here. temperatures of up to 43 degrees celsius. a lot of the voters actually arrived earlier in the day as did mr. modi. it is mr. modi's home state. it's where he's from. where he's contesting one of two partme parliamentary seats. it's also where he's really admired because of his administrative skills. mr. modi is also a controversial politician because his record is marred somewhat by religious riots that took place in the state in the year 2002 under his watch. about 1,000 people were killed, most of them muslims. although he's been exonerated by the courts there are many who believe he did very little to prevent those riots from taking place and very little since then

to try and improve relations between the two communities. as you pointed out, tim, earlier today i went to a polling station not very far from here where mr. modi cast his vote. a surge of frenzied support for the man who could be india's next leader. na rend ra modi emerging after casting his vote and basking in the adulation. it's a real air of excitement. they've been gathering here for hours to catch a glimpse of their hero. this is mr. modi's home. they adore him here. they'd like nothing better than to see him installed as india's next prime minister. not everyone shares the sentiment. every day they scramble to fill up water here. it's a scarce commodity in this neighborhood. built right next to the city's main rubbish dump. this vast muslim -- with its rows of single room houses is home to the victims of the 2002

riot. they've lived here ever since. at the mercy of charities. because the government has forgotten them. katoon bibi was one lucky to escape with her life. she remembers how a mob gathered outside her house as they hid inside. >> translator: we kept really silent hoping the mob would go away. we even gathered children with our scarves to stop them from crying. that's what saved us. all these years, narendra modi only meets important people. he has no time for us muslims. >> reporter: but that doesn't seem to matter here, in the shiny malls and glitzy shops. for the past decade, the economy has boomed. attracting investment and creating jobs.

most gujaratis credit one man for their success. >> industry is doing well. it all happened because of narendra modi. for many years he has taken full charge of the state. he has done a wonderful job. we can see it. the best part is that he has the business mind. >> reporter: at narendra modi leaves after voting, he knows the election now is in its final, most decisive stretch. his record in the spotlight. and in two weeks he'll know what india thinks. voting is taking place in seven states today including punjab in the north and is southern india sta state. after these elections, it's going to be divided into two.

this city founded more than 400 years ago hasn't lost -- the jobs and bazaars are buzzing like always. it's the indian state of andra pradesh, splitting in two after elections are over in may. andhra pradesh is bigger than the united kingdom both in size and population. there's economic disparity. the people of the less developed region -- ask for a separate state. a demand which was met only after prolonged protests. >> not solving problems of these people. no jobs. no water. no basic amenities. that is why these people feel that it's the solution for these

issues. >> reporter: both the ruling congress and the main opposition party are taking the credit for the creation of the new state rangana. and this is the new face of hyderabad. it's where microsoft, google and facebook have their presence. with this being their 24th election, it will be regions like this which might have a big say in national politics. >> reporter: of course, there are two more days of voting left before that all important counting day on may 16th. in the second day of voting on may 12th, voting will take place in the holy indian city. that's also where mr. narendra modi is contesting the elections. the question everyone here is asking which one is he going to represent if he were to win both

seats? >> thank you very much, indeed. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. still to come, syria's human exodus. jordan prepares to take in more than 50,000 refugees into a massive new desert facility, complete with schools, police stations and a supermarket. azraq camp will be a makeshift city for those fleeing the violence. in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. dad. how i don't know.ere? (speaking in russian) look, look, look... you probably want to get away as much as we do.

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welcome to "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm tim willcox. coming up in this half hour, a new city for syrian refugees in the jordanian desert. but how beneficial will it be for those fleeing the fighting? and when harry left cressy. the royal prince and his model girlfriend decide to call it a day after two years in the spotlight. welcome to the program. aaron is here. all eyes on brazil with its big sporting events. but will they be ready on time? >> tim, only a few hours ago brazil gets slammed for having the worst olympic preparations

ever seen. we're looking at whether the billions of dollars being pumped into grand sporting stadiums should, in fact, be spent on making homes for the millions of brazilians who live in slums. for three years now, the effects of serious conflicts have flowed across its borders. more than 2.5 million people have fled the fighting for safety in neighboring countries. another huge new camp for syrian refugees is opening in a remote part of jordan. azraq camp is said to be the best planned facility for displaced people ever built complete with schools, hospitals, police stations, even a supermarket. it could ultimately be expanded to take in 130,000 syrians, making it the biggest in the region. jordan is currently hosting more than 600,000 syrian refugees and hundreds more trickle over its

border every day. our correspondent has been to visit the new site. >> reporter: at the moment it looks a bit look a ghost town. but very soon the syrian refugees are going to be moving into this area of al azraq camp. it's been over a year in the making. but it's said to be the best camp of its kind that's ever been built. an area like this group of shelters would be probably be used to accommodate an extended families. you can see they've got their own bathroom facilitiefacilitie. if we look inside one of the shelters, a maximum of five syrian refugees will be living in here. you can see the home has been designed with a high ceiling. this really helps with ventilation. it's actually quite cool even though we're in the middle of the harsh desert. there are these wires so the partitions can be put up by the family. and they'll receive all kinds of household items when they

arrive. things like mattresses, a gas stove, also a charger. things that will help them settle into their lives here. there are still final preparations being made. but the aid agencies and the authorities say they've learned a lot of lessons from their troubled experiences at jordan's vast zaatari camp. here each area, or village as they're calling it, will have its own clinic, its own school and there will be a central supermarket. security should be much better. initially up to 51,000 syrian refugees could be housed here at al azraq camp. but with no end in sight to the conflict next door, in future it could be expanded to take in as many as 130,000 people. >> we can actually go to that camp in jordan. we'll be speaking to robert behr. he's from norway refugee camps who helped set it up.

first in britain, dawn chassis, director of refugee study center at oxford university. it's a huge camp, dawn, with all the right facilities. surely this is the best way of looking after these people, isn't it? >> well, that depends upon whether you believe that enclosing and encamping refugees is the best way forward or not. certainly it's quite understandable that the jordanian government is fearful that there may be, again, hundreds of thousands more syrians crossing the border. but i think that the lessons that we learned from the previous large scale refugee crisis in the middle east, the iraqi crisis, taught the -- the world a lesson. that refugees don't want to be enclosed in camps. and that the best way forward is really to permit and to encourage self-settlement where the refugee has some agency, some ability, to work towards rebuilding their lives temporarily with the aid of the

government. >> but isn't the problem here for the actual domestic population? you know, to have an influx of so many people, to reassure them these people need to be looked after. otherwise you're going to have huge problems with local populations? >> that's true. but local hosting is always more beneficial. especially if the local hosting is supported by the international community. in fact, jordan is locally hosting half a million syrian refugees in the large urban centers and towns. and these are very effective programs. and you should consider, for example, lebanon has nearly 1 million syrian refugees as well in the country. and its population is only about 4 million. but these are all dispersed in small settlements throughout the country. refugees have a great deal of agency. of course, they need assistance, and they're getting it. i'm just saying that encampment, enclosure isn't always the best way forward, no matter how comfortable you make it.

>> i think we just lost our link, unfortunately, to the azraq camp in jordan. we're going to try and get that up. just another question for you, dawn chatty. i mean, what evidence is there that camps are used, perhaps, to recruit people for certain militias? you look back at, say, some of the palestinian camps from the late 1940s. that has been the case there. but what about in recent times? i mean, can you -- is there categorical evidence, empirical evidence to prove that? >> i don't think there is. especially the syrian refugee flows. you have to keep in mind, syrian youth, the people generally recruited, are basically not permitted to cross the borders into jordan without being accompanied by full family members. we even know of cases where families, where mothers and children have gone back across the border in order to bring across their 18 or 19-year-old son because they're not permitted to cross the border on their own. i think what you're really seeing is a flow of people

trying to escape the violence. and the recruitment by the extremist groups, i don't think has been documented. >> when you use the word incarcerated in these camps, don't they have the freedom of movement to do what they want? >> no. that's just the problem. they're not permitted to leave. i didn't have a chance to see the actual visuals that you had on there. but i think you'll find that they're all surrounded by barb wire fencing ing. that's to prevent them from leaving. leaving is very difficult. one of the reasons, for example, in zaatari camp you had quite an upsurge in illegal trafficking, smuggling of people out. because they couldn't leave legally unless they were sponsored by a jordanian citizen. >> okay. dawn chatty, director of refugee studies center at oxford university. robert behr, who i'm afraid we saw very briefly but didn't manage to speak to because of technical problems. i'm sorry about that. it would have been good to have

caught up with the norway refugee council who helped set up that huge camp in jordan. let's see if my communications are going to work to get across to -- there's nothing on your screens. >> not yet. there will be. hopefully. don't jinx it. talk about battling for the top spot, let me explain. yes. battling for that big spot. we though, yes, the united states has been the world's biggest economy for more than a century now. in fact, 144 years. but after two decades of spectacular growth, we know w china is catching up pretty darn fast. a figure from one organization backed by the world bank suggests two economic superpowers, these two economic superpowers, could be neck and neck by the end of this year. the international comparison program, it measures the wealth based on the average cost of living in a country rather than the more recognized total value of output in the economy. what we talk about all the time, gdp. you got all of this?

mm-hmm. let's get some explanation. chief business correspondent linda yueh. linda is going to break it down for us, aren't you, linda? let me start with this. if you look at the regular way we measure, gdp, china is still only half in terms of value of the united states. so what are we talking about? help us out here. ha what is this new measurement? >> reporter: aaron, it's essentially trying to adjust for the fact that the chinese r &d is undervalued. we hear that a lot. if the currency is too cheap, china could sell more exports than it warrants. the other impact is that when you convert the size of china's annual output into u.s. dollars, you're using that undervalued rnb. what ppp or purchasing power parity does, is to say, well, if you use that conversion, then you're going to underestimate the size of the chinese economy. what the people actually produce. let's make an adjustment not

based on what the exchange rate is, but on what an actual u.s. dollar would buy in china. so this ppp adjustment is used fairly widely around the world to try and correct for especially emerging economies' exchange rates which may be misvalued somehow. aaron, here's the kind of health warning around it. when we make these comparisons, we just have to be very clear that adjusting for ppp is pretty inexact. >> okay. let me break it down even further for the layman. meaning me here, linda. it's all about what a dollar, basically, what one buck will buy you in different countries. they're assuming a dollar in china will buy you more than what it will buy you in the united states. >> reporter: yeah. actually, let me put it another way. if we didn't convert everybody into u.s. dollars, but convert it to chinese rnb. you would then have to work out

what the rnb would buy in different countries in order to properly assess is value of, say, american income or output. so that's why these conversions have to be taken with a bit of a grain of salt. overall, if you look at this comparison that's come out, this new assessment, more accurately measuring purchasing power parity, according to this international comparison program, what they found generally is that middle income countries are undervalued in terms of what they contribute to global incomes and output. their assessment says middle income countries account for half of the world's gdp if you look just on the basis of their exchange rates, it's only about a third. it gives you a sense as to why it is this comparison can be quite difficult. but the most important thing, i think, to bear in mind is that you only want to make this comparison for a particular reason. it doesn't really matter in one sense who the biggest economy in the world is. what really matters is how much

incomes have grown for a particular country. so the default should really be, how much of chinese output and incomes risen over the past few years? are we properly assessing that rather than whether or not 1.3 billion people entering the middle class means they're bigger than the u.s. this year or even in a few years' time. so any time we want to compare, aaron, we just need to make sure why we're making that comparison. and why it would really matter if the comparison was based on very difficult measurement issues. if it's worth making those measurement issues because you think that comparison is going to make a difference, then do it. otherwise just beware, all that really matters is how much the average chinese makes. not really how big 1.3 million people makes the output of the country. remember, aaron, china has a billion more people than the u.s. that's probably why most economists think china will become the world's biggest economy. probably what doesn't matter as much really is when. >> absolutely, indeed. thanks for breaking that down, linda. always appreciate that.

talk to you soon. linda yueh joining us live from singapore there. let's talk about this. yes, it is. it's just over a month until the kickoff of the world cup. of course, that debate continues to rage over the huge costs of that event. now, adding to brazil's woes, it's a tough one, the international olympic committee has just come out and slammed the country for having the worst olympic preparations they have ever seen. now, we know brazil's wealth has grown in the past decade. but deep, deep inequalities remain. no more so than in the country's biggest city of sao paulo. why the city has grown and property prices have risen, the number of -- it's given momentum to squatters in the city who say all that money on sporting events should be spent on housing. our very own katie watson now reports from sao paulo. >> reporter: this is one of sao paulo's newest neighborhoods. it's got no proper plumbing and

no proper sewage system either. in less than six months 2,000 people have moved in. rebecca is one of them. at 35 she recently separated and couldn't afford her rent. so she now shares this tent with her two children. the space is just big enough for two beds, she says. there's no electricity. and when it rains, the water comes through the roof and the floor turns to mud. rebecca is a member of one of several housing movements in the city. they occupy land. sao paulo officials say around 230,000 families in the city need housing. others say that figure is twice or three times that. but it's not just empty parcels of land that have been taken over. here in the center of sao paulo buildings left unoccupied for years have increasingly been taken over by housing movements.

170 families have lived in this building since they first took it over nearly 18 months ago. it's in a part of town that the wealthy long since abandoned. even here, rents often exceed the minimum wage of just over $300 a month. here they cook together, clean together and share the responsibilities. and it's all overseen by walita. >> translator: the government's investing billions for world cup on stadiums that don't have enough people to fill them. they don't have the money to invest in education and housing and health. when we sit down at the table with them, they say they don't have the funds. >> reporter: the government insists efforts are being made. there are federal and statewide building programs and the municipality in sao paulo set to build -- new homes by 2016.

>> translator: in eight years, the previous administration managed to build no more than 24,000 houses. so we are more than doubling their investment for social housing here in sao paulo. >> reporter: so building projects increase, but amid rising prices these housing movements are also gaining momentum. practically every week a new building or piece of land is taken over. and people here keep dreaming of that house. katie watson, bbc news, sao paulo. >> katie is going to be looking at the problems facing brazil as it tries to build all the infrastructure to match its growing economy. stay tuned for that one, indeed. let's touch on some of the other stories making headlines all around the world. europe's highest court has rejected britain's legal challenge to the introduction of a financial transaction pact in europe. certainly dealing a blow to london's efforts to stop a levy that may hurt trading business. in the ruling the european court

of justice said the uk could not block 11 countries from imposing a transaction tax on mainland europe because it could impact trade in london. you get that? ebay says it's repay tree yates $9 billion of cash held overseas back to the united states. the firm said the move which will see it paying taxes of $3 billion on the cash will provide the funds needed for any potential acquisitions. many u.s. firms have kept some of their cash overseas, a move widely seen as a way to avoid high u.s. tax rates. the battle continues as the french engineering company considering a $17 billion from u.s. firm ge, general electric, for energy business. the frempk firm which also makes -- there it is. the high speed train. also left the door open to german firm zeman, also interested in its power turbine business. a bit of a tussle going on possibly for that merger.

we're going to keep atop that story. tweet me. i'll tweet you right back. get me @bbcaaron. i'm going to have more. world business report coming up in 45 minutes' time. i'm going to get my plug in. tim, sorry. back to you, mate. >> you never tweet me back. >> you never tweet me. >> stay with us here. more from aaron in 45 minutes' time. also, a royal vacancy. prince harry goes it alone after a two-year relationship played out in the public. what next for one of world's most eligible bachelors?

you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm tim willcox. top stories this hour. voters in iraq are going to the polls in the first parliamentary election since the withdrawal of american forces in 2011.

the protests held in the nigerian capital abuja to demand the government do more to secure the release of more than 230 schoolgirls abducted by militants. now, britain's prince harry has split up apparently with his girlfriend of two years ago, cressida bonas. the news ends rumors of a wedding, sparked after the couple attended their first official engagement together in february. they were caught kissing on camera. not sure we got that in. it's believed 25-year-old cressy bonas was struggling to deal with the intense media attention that came with dating the prince. the editor for "the telegraph" newspaper. people like you, then, split them up. >> it reminds me of what they used to say about charles and diana. spitting image. will they make it up, won't they make it up. if they don't make it up, we'll make it up. clearly the bbc is reporting it. we're reporting it. not a tabloid story.

the daily mail, i might add, it's just a matter of time. they're going to get married imminently. an awkward gaffe for them. >> they did attend that official engagement together. normally, i mean, you understand royal protocol better than i do. wouldn't that suggest this is something semipermanent? >> well, it was rugby. harry happens to like rugby. he took his girlfriend along. they are in their 20s. we are allowed to date people. i think we have the idea -- >> she's 25, isn't she. you think also, i suppose, immediately of william going out with kate. because they split up as well. the pressures are huge, aren't they? on a girlfriend like this. >> well, i think in a strange way, i think cressida quite enjoyed it. because the fact is, she talks about going into acting and so on. it's not bad for her.

but i think whether or not she wanted to do it for the long term in the way that kate clearly has had to, i think that takes a degree of sacrifice. i think it's asking an awful lot of any poor woman, let alone one in her 20s still. >> i suppose when you say he's -- he's not even 30 yet, is he. but there's no real pressure on harry, is there? the succession is sorted out. >> absolutely. charles has the heir. if i was harry, i would just enjoy myself. he clearly enjoys the company of the opposite sex. he's heading off quite soon to a great mate of his getting married. clearly he wants to enjoy himself there. as i imagine he will at the stag cruise and so on. i think maybe there's a lot to be said to being foot loose and fancy free at an occasion like that. >> there's always the embarrassment factor, isn't there? we have seen him in the states in -- what was it? las vegas. >> a nazi uniform also comes to

mind. >> with that carefree abandon, he is still a member of the royal family. and, of course, people like you and the tabloids are chasing him all the time. >> yes. but i think we give him a bit of slack. and i think it's important to give him a bit of slack. i think he should be allowed to have friends, female friends, and not to immediately assume they're going to get married. clearly, i think they both enjoyed this relationship. but i think all things often come to an end at that point in their lives. >> where is the royal family, do you think, in terms of the suitability of girlfriends? i think about prince andrew and stark. she appeared in a sort of -- in a sort of semiclad in some sort of film. that did for her then or seemed to. how would the royal family cope with, i don't know, a girlfriend of a different color? >> i would hope nowadays they wouldn't be at all bothered. however, it's nothing new that we've had a few racy ones. one thinks of poor old prince andrew when he was with sarah

ferguson and all the revelations. the toe sucking followed. the revelations about the father. it used to be an occasional scandal. like any family when you start to look at it in any detail, i think allen bennett says every family has a secret. the secret is not like any other family. i don't think anybody can ever expect a family to be perfect. >> tim walker. what are you writing about tomorrow? >> i think i have a lot of -- over my so-called rivals of the daily mail saying their about to get married. >> thank you. lovely to see you. let us know. a lot of people are interested. you're watching "gmt." a quick reminder of our main story this hour. voting across iraq is taking place under extremely heavy security. baghdad is under lockdown. no cars allowed on the streets. these are the first parliamentary elections taking place since the u.s. pulled their troops out of the country three years ago. violence on iraqi streets some of the worst since 2008.

more than 150 people killed in the past week alone. let's leave those pictures and bring you one other line just coming in from talks between angela merkel. the g-7 will be united on possible further sanctions against russia. more on that on bbc world news throughout the day. throughout the day. for me and the team, bye-bye. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

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